Pythonic's Decomposition EP: Rebuilt, Refined, and Ridiculously Relentless

by Scott Roos

band photo by Carsen Warriner

There’s a difference between re-releasing old songs and resurrecting them.

On Decomposition, the new EP from Saskatoon metal act Pythonic, the band does the latter. The five tracks mirror their earlier EP in order and foundation but the similarities end there. What once leaned toward groove-heavy nu-metal-esque sonics now detonates with sharpened death-metal precision.

And according to guitarist Vincent Kohut, this is only the beginning.

“Yes It's honestly only getting heavier too as we've been writing with the group that we have now… We have another set of songs… probably five song EP out in the next probably month or two.”

That sense of forward motion defines Decomposition. The project isn’t nostalgia by any stretch. It's undeniably correction.

Same Skeleton. New Flesh.

Rather than abandon earlier material, Pythonic chose to deconstruct it.

“So pretty much what I wanted to do… was… the same five songs on each of (our EPs) in the same order just some of them are going to be renamed… we just kept the same kind of subject matter… wrote it a lot more cohesive… you can kind of follow more of a story than the original lyrics.”

The transformation isn’t cosmetic. Riffs were tightened. Tempos increased. Awkward transitions were eliminated. Songs that once sprawled past five minutes were compressed into focused assaults.

Take “Liturgy,” one of the EP’s standouts.

“We took it from… like a five minute song before it's like 3:40 now so we cut out a bunch of really redundant riffs and parts… one of the original ones was like 4-4 then it was like 5-4 then 4-4… it was just really awkward…”

The rewrite wasn’t just structural—it was thematic. Vocalist Morgan Warriner reshaped the lyrical core.

“The song is about like summoning a demon to like lay waste to the lands… it's kind of anti-religious but like more of a story.”

It’s darker. Leaner. More confident.

Enter Morgan Warriner

The biggest shift on Decomposition isn’t just sonic, though. It’s personnel. Morgan Warriner, formerly the band’s bassist, now commands the mic. His brother Jayden Warriner anchors the drums, while Max Hiske locks in the low end.

Kohut credits the current lineup for the band’s newfound cohesion.

“Morgan technically… he's been in the band for two years, but he was bassist before… we got Max now and he's been phenomenal… he's added so much depth to a lot of our songs.”

That depth matters. In modern metal, low end can easily dissolve into distortion. Pythonic wanted clarity without sacrificing brutality.

“It's punchy. It's pretty bassy… you can hear the drums you can hear the guitars you can hear the bass and like it all works together…”

To achieve that, Kohut handled recording duties himself before sending the tracks to Reid Paraszczynec for mixing and mastering—a move he calls a turning point.

“Having him come in and do the mixing master… it was such a game changer… he is a metal musician and knows metal so he could mix metal so well… I honestly don't think I could have found anybody better.”

The result? A mix that rumbles but breathes. It's very reminiscent of the surgical heaviness perfected by bands like Cannibal Corpse without descending into sludge.

Death Groove, Not Death Copy

Trying to pin Pythonic to a single subgenre misses the point. Kohut has a term for where they sit.

“Lately I've been kind of like, we're kind of like a death groove… it's not fully death metal… not fully like a groove metal band… it's kind of in between… we're not just like pure speed all the time.”

Listeners have drawn comparisons to Morbid Angel and The Black Dahlia Murder—influences Kohut acknowledges with a grin.

But Pythonic’s roots stretch beyond death metal orthodoxy. Kohut grew up in Hafford, Saskatchewan, absorbing everything from classic heavy metal to melodic death.

“One of my earliest memories… I have my Fisher Price tape recorder and I'm listening to Judas Priest's British Steel… my parents listen to a lot of metal… I kind of just… started getting heavier and heavier over the years.”

And yes, there was a Cannibal Corpse phase.

“I'm pretty sure I spent two years literally only listening to cannibal corpse every day… I love George Fisher's vocals…”

But the draw wasn’t anger. It was sheer adrenaline.

“Something about like the heavy riffs and playing them and just like getting those big chugs in… it really drew me in… playing live… watching people… moshing… it's surreal… you can just make people move like that through your music. It's awesome.”

Saskatchewan’s Metal Moment

Pythonic’s evolution arrives as SaskMusic prepares to host Saskatchewan’s first Metal Summit in Saskatoon. A three-day festival and conference spotlighting heavy acts like Into Eternity and Augurium, alongside delegates from Nuclear Blast Records UK and beyond has been planned.

For Kohut, the event signals long-overdue recognition and he plans to attend as many shows during the Feb. 27 - March 1 event.

“I was super stoked to see that something like this was happening… finally I feel like you guys are kind of giving… to the metal community and helping it actually grow…”

Pythonic won’t be on this year’s summit stage, but their trajectory suggests they’re knocking on that door. They’ve already climbed bills in Edmonton after blistering performances, and new material is imminent.

Decomposition feels less like a bridge to the past and more like a controlled burn—clearing space for something heavier.

As Kohut puts it, simply:

“It's honestly only getting heavier.”